Putin Did Not Threaten to Start a Nuclear War, Says Kremlin
According to Kremlin, the Western media "deliberately omitted Putin's words."
- World News
- 2 min read
Kremlin on Thursday said that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin did not threaten to use the nuclear weapons against the West. Washington took Putin’s statements out of context, Kremlin noted. Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in a statement, noted that Putin’s answer was only in context to the interviewer’s question but was not a threat as projected by the western nations.
According to Kremlin, the Western media "deliberately omitted Putin's words.” Peskov added, that Russia has the option of using tactical nuclear weapons, but it "never came to mind” despite all the different scenarios on the battlefield. "It was a question from the journalist that the president answered. He did not make any statement there. The President was just talking about the reasons that could make the use of nuclear weapons inevitable,” Peskov said. The latter added, that Putin’s words were manipulated by the Biden administration.
‘We have our principles’: Putin on using nukes
After Russian President’s interview that aired on March 13, the White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US President Joe Biden was informed about Putin's interview. Kremlin responded to Washington, saying that they "deliberately distorted the context” and "did not want to hear” Putin. During the interview, Putin was asked if Russia was ready for the nuclear war. "From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready. They [nuclear missiles] are constantly in a state of combat readiness,” Putin replied. He, however, added that there was no need for nukes in the war. When asked if Russia never thought of such option as using the tactical nuclear weapons, Putin replied, "No, why?”
“We have our principles. They suggest that we are ready to use weapons, including any weapons, including the ones you mentioned, if it goes about the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence. We have everything enshrined in our strategy, we haven't changed it,” Putin told interviewer.